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February Short List Winner: Best Place For Pizzahttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/february-short-list-winner-best-place-for-pizza/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/february-short-list-winner-best-place-for-pizza/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 19:35:32 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=132624The votes are in, and it’s official: the winner of February's Chapelboro Short List for “Best Place For Pizza” is...

The votes are in, and it’s official: the winner of February’s Chapelboro Short List for “Best Place For Pizza” is Italian Pizzeria III!

IP3 has been a fixture on Franklin Street for almost 35 years. Nearly twenty years ago, the Marrone brothers arrived from Naples as teenagers to help their uncle run the restaurant. Now they own it themselves, and they preside over a hungry crowd of families and students alike. It’s a popular spot for watching soccer and other sports, and their pies are sure to please.

This University Mall staple has it all: delicious thin-crust pizza, of course, but also calzones, subs, salads, pastas and even wings! Alfredo’s is a great neighborhood pizza joint, perfect for capping off a day of shopping at the mall or for ordering in!

Carrboro Pizza Oven has only been operating in Carr Mill Mall for a little over two years, but in that short time, it’s become a Carrboro favorite. It offers a lengthy menu of gourmet pizzas and pastas, and it takes pride in sourcing from local purveyors. It even offers gluten-free pizzas for those who ask!

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/february-short-list-winner-best-place-for-pizza/feed/0Hate, Anger, and Easy-to-Get Gunshttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/hate-anger-and-easy-to-get-guns/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/hate-anger-and-easy-to-get-guns/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 10:00:54 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=132562It’s been a crazy time here in the southern part of heaven. Like anyone else with normal human feelings, I was pretty shocked by the cold-blooded murders of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha. By now, everyone reading this knows the circumstances of the murders, and also knows the trajectories of the victims’ exemplary […]

]]>It’s been a crazy time here in the southern part of heaven. Like anyone else with normal human feelings, I was pretty shocked by the cold-blooded murders of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha. By now, everyone reading this knows the circumstances of the murders, and also knows the trajectories of the victims’ exemplary young lives. As the mother of two teenagers, I shudder to imagine what their parents are going through. I don’t want to even think about it, although at the same time I’m having trouble tearing myself away from all the news reports and interviews.

First, a much noted issue – was this a hate crime? In a televised interview, the father of the two women said definitely yes, noting that the victims were shot in the head execution-style. My son’s Muslim friends, one of whom was close with Deah Barakat, are also adamant that this was a hate crime. Based on what we know so far, I find myself agreeing; this looks like a deliberate murder by a guy with fervent anti-religious views. If I were Muslim, I’d be feeling the hate too.

That’s not the only important issue here, though. It has also been noted that the killer, Craig Stephen Hicks, has a history of threatening behavior. In addition, he was in legal possession of a concealed-carry gun permit. And he owned up to a dozen firearms. All of which begs the question – ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME? How is it that, as a society in a developed western nation, a seemingly unstable dude can own a panoply of firearms and a concealed carry permit? Why anyone should have all that is a legitimate question, but why this guy should have all that is beyond absurd. What is wrong with us? And why are we not talking about it?

Let’s please acknowledge that it is too damn easy to own guns. Honestly, it is. In any other western country, the same anger might be present, but the result would have been different because guns are just not that easily available. You can’t easily cure mental instability, but you CAN cure widespread gun ownership. A cursory look at gun death specifics by country makes that abundantly clear. Gun culture kills.

So of course, let’s talk hate crime. But let’s also talk about why mentally unstable people can so easily own an arsenal. These are usually seen as separate debates. But really they are not. Let’s start with the relationship between mental illness and hate. Hate doesn’t beget mental illness. But mental illness can beget hate. And that, I think, is arguably what is going on in this case. Here we have an apparently unstable guy who was predisposed to anger and conflict. One thing he hated was religion, and religious people. His anger prompted him to acquire guns. His anti-religious views prompted him to dislike – arguably hate – religious people. His anger, combined with his views, arguably prompted him to let it all out on his conspicuously religious neighbors. The proximate cause may or may not have been parking spots – but the underlying causes were mental instability, guns, and hate.

Finally, let’s also acknowledge that the Muslim community justifiably feels targeted, and that individuals prone to anger and hate have their feelings validated by an awful lot of hateful rhetoric spewing from politicians and media, especially on the right, but not always (cue Bill Maher…). The rhetoric didn’t cause these murders, and speech is free. But preaching hate is never helpful, so let’s call it out. Speaking of which: hey, Duke University? Now would be a good time to allow that call to prayer from Duke Chapel.

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/hate-anger-and-easy-to-get-guns/feed/0‘Best Of’ Bracket – Entertainmenthttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/best-bracket-entertainment-3/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/best-bracket-entertainment-3/#commentsThu, 19 Feb 2015 10:00:35 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=128717We all love going out for a fun night on the town or a great weekend show – that’s why our overflowing Chapelboro Events Calendar is so popular. After last year’s epic Chapelboro Restaurant Bracket, we’re back to find your favorite local venue – whether it’s a music club, museum, theater, or an outdoor stage! We’ve made […]

We all love going out for a fun night on the town or a great weekend show – that’s why our overflowing Chapelboro Events Calendar is so popular. After last year’s epic Chapelboro Restaurant Bracket, we’re back to find your favorite local venue – whether it’s a music club, museum, theater, or an outdoor stage!

We’ve made a bracket of 32 of the best places to be entertained in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and the rest of our area. Each week through March 12th, come back to vote for your picks and send them through to the next round until we crown a champion!

FINAL FOUR VOTING IS OPEN NOW THROUGH MARCH 4TH AT MIDNIGHT!

And in addition to supporting your favorite place for fun, every time you vote, you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift card to a local restaurant! Each week we’ll pick a different voter to win, so be sure to come back and vote every Thursday!

Click here to sign up and start voting now. And remember to vote on both halves of the bracket – left and right!

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/best-bracket-entertainment-3/feed/0Best Writing About Dean Smithhttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/best-writing-dean-smith/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/best-writing-dean-smith/#commentsWed, 18 Feb 2015 14:31:43 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=130537The passing of Dean Smith has produced remembrances from some of America's best national sportswriters. Below is a collection of those pieces:

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/best-writing-dean-smith/feed/0A Few Short Stories About The Coach…http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/short-stories-coach/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/short-stories-coach/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 21:16:33 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=130829Dean Edwards Smith coached his first UNC basketball team in the fall of 1961, my first year at Chapel Hill. His team eventually finished 8-9, recording Smith’s only losing season at Carolina. I flunked both French and mathematics in my own first semester, spending way too much time worrying about whether Smith would flunk out completely. […]

]]>Dean Edwards Smith coached his first UNC basketball team in the fall of 1961, my first year at Chapel Hill. His team eventually finished 8-9, recording Smith’s only losing season at Carolina. I flunked both French and mathematics in my own first semester, spending way too much time worrying about whether Smith would flunk out completely.

Somehow during that season, smart as I clearly was, I decided to sign a letter to the Daily Tar Heel questioning Smith’s skills as a basketball coach. A few weeks later, I got a phone call at the fraternity house. It was Smith, asking if I would mind visiting his office. I didn’t want to go, of course, figuring I might be banned from Woollen Gym for the rest of my life.

Smith was 30, I barely 18. I shook hands with him, sat down, and waited. Then, this still-young man asked me about the idea of “loyalty.” He went on to say that he wasn’t referring to loyalty to him necessarily, but loyalty as a concept that might come in handy as life moved on. He did, however, ask for a better chance to win basketball games than he’d been given by me and a few fraternity boys.

Frankly, I had never thought much about loyalty up to then, but I gave it plenty of thought during a long walk across campus to 200 West Cameron. After all, Smith wasn’t talking to me about absolute loyalty; he was only urging that people always consider loyalty as a first option.

I have not fully lived up to the Dean Smith loyalty standard since that first meeting. But he has always made me at least think about it, and you can be damned sure I was nowhere near Woollen Gym the night those bastards hung their effigy in 1965.

***

The game against Georgetown in New Orleans, it seems to me, is the most important game in UNC basketball history. A case can be made for Kansas City in 1957, but never have so many people in so many places cared so much about one coach as was the case that night. That’s the tie-breaker.

I was there with my 10-year-old son, 25 years since my mother had sent me to Kansas City. That just made the pressure worse. It seems a little silly now as we look back, but Carolina winning that Monday night seemed to be the most important thing in the world to a lot of people who ought to know better.

That said, time seemed to freeze when Jordan put up The Shot. The Superdome suddenly seemed to go dead silent. Most of the following 10 minutes are blurred.

One thing we know is that Dean Smith had very little to say afterward and most of that was about his opposing coach and friend, John Thompson. We know Smith embraced point guard Jimmy Black, who had said time and again how much he wanted this for his coach.

Young Alfred and I were standing a few feet from the late Hugh Morton when Hugh took the incredible photo of Coach Smith, Rick Brewer, an exhausted James Worthy and a pensive Black as they waited to speak to the media. They were not even talking to each other.

Twenty minutes later, the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter was a madhouse. The team hotel’s lobby was packed with nearly-hysterical fans. Everywhere you heard, “We did it for Dean, we finally did it for Dean.” Outside on the sidewalk, team “house mother” Lil Lee wept and kissed each player coming off the team bus.

Somewhere in the night, Coach Smith was having dinner, surely with family and maybe a friend or two. I am certain he was happy for all of us, but he simply did not need to be there.

***

In the waning season of 1982-83, the defending national champion was on its way to winning 18 straight games. I did something I had never done; I visited the Carolina basketball office and asked if I could get two game tickets, so my parents could actually see UNC play in person.

Long story here, but my late mother was the real fan. She cared about Dean Smith, Carolina basketball and the Boston Red Sox. She was also very quiet about it and had her own game rituals. She would retreat to a small bedroom and listen alone to the Heels on a white clock radio. I can’t remember ever seeing her watch a game on television, and she had never attended one.

I wanted to end that. Soon, a nice note arrived in the mail from Coach Smith’s office, saying I could get the tickets at Will Call. They would be for the awaited second matchup with Virginia and Ralph Sampson. Carolina had earlier snapped a 34-game Virginia home winning streak, beating the No. 1-ranked Cavaliers 101-95.

When we walked into Carmichael a week or so later, I was stunned to find the seats on the first row on the arena’s east side, about even with the top of the key. A game program and stat sheets were waiting on each seat. Proud as could be, figuring mission accomplished, I retreated to press row high across the way.

As Carolina finished pre-game warmups, I was stunned to see Coach Smith walk away from his bench, find my parents’ seats and spend perhaps 30 seconds with them. He had no reason whatsoever to do that, other than simply being kind.

About two hours later, Jordan stripped the basketball from Rick Carlisle about 35 feet from my parents and unloaded a windmill slam that sealed a 64-63 victory, in front of a crowd gone nuts.

A few months later, I asked Mom if she would like to see another game in Chapel Hill. Her response went something like this, “No thank you, son. Dean Smith came to talk to me. There’s no reason to go back.”

***

In the late winter of 1988, friend and co-writer Art Chansky and I traveled to Kansas to work on some pieces for the Carolina Court publication. Coach Smith had telephoned his quite elderly parents and asked that Alfred and Vesta Smith give us some time during a visit to Topeka, Smith’s hometown since his sophomore year in high school.

It was a cold and drab day, but we found a warm and comfortable home. The Smiths plied the road-weary visitors with hot chocolate and spent much of the afternoon sharing memories of their boy made good. Upstairs, they showed us his bedroom, pretty much left the same since young Dean headed to the University of Kansas on an academic scholarship given to veterans’ sons.

As the day waned, Alfred Smith drove me to see the basketball court at Topeka High School, where his son played and where the elder Smith had coached Emporia High School to its single Class A state title.

Smith recalled, “You know, Dean liked football more than anything because he enjoyed diagramming plays. But he felt there were too many players in football and basketball allowed him to be closer to players.”

Smith also told one of the two stories we heard that day that sounded a lot like the coach later to be known as both a great competitor and a deeply caring man.

“It was a city league baseball game,” his father remembered. “Dean was catching. He knew a pitch was over the plate and the umpire standing behind him didn’t. So Dean turned around and told him. He got ejected.”

Later, as we readied to leave, Vesta Smith added the second story I remember today. She said of her son, “He was an unselfish boy. He got a 25 cent allowance every week and was supposed to spend some and save some. But he almost always ran out because he was giving the extra to his buddies.”

***

Eight years ago, I was privileged to spend nearly two hours alone with Coach Smith, interviewing him in his post-coaching cubby-hole of an office somewhere in the Smith Center. As every reporter who covered him knows, he always played his cards close to the vest. I am not sure he was ever comfortable with the media. The attention looked and felt too much like self-absorption, and he didn’t like that. That, of course, is just my opinion.

On this day, 75 then and 10 years away from the job, he was reflecting. He admitted to learning some lessons late, and repeated some opinions long held. Among those he shared:

“When I was coaching, I never understood fans who said they were nervous during games, but now I understand. When you’re coaching, you face one decision after another. You never really have a chance to be nervous.”

“I would rather watch the team play now on television, instead of in person. That allows me to be alone and it is much easier for me to take notes.”

“Coaching the Olympic (1976) team is the first time I ever talked directly about winning as a goal. We were there to do one thing, win the gold medal…I’m sorry the decision was later made to put professionals on the Olympic team.”

“We need to lengthen the collegiate 3-point shot. My major concern is not just that players can easily make it; it’s the shot’s negative impact on learning fundamentals.”

On physical play: “The officials still aren’t calling anything, especially away from the ball…They make a few calls early in the season but it’s all back to the same story by January and February.”

Much of the remaining time was spent on things that had no place in the piece I was writing. He even asked me about my son, whose high school team had completed a 31-0 season on the Smith Center court 17 years before. He didn’t ask me about being loyal, thank goodness.

It would be our last meeting, 45 years since our first, and one of the last before there would be no more interviews at all.

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/short-stories-coach/feed/0Short List Voting: Best Place For Pizzahttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/short-list-voting-best-place-pizza/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/short-list-voting-best-place-pizza/#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 17:11:17 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=130679Plenty of sites and publications offer “best of” lists and top ten awards, but how many let YOU vote on the best businesses and locations around your town? After all, it is YOUR town. Who else is more qualified to choose? Chapelboro.com’s Short List is a monthly award decided entirely by the readers and residents in YOUR […]

Plenty of sites and publications offer “best of” lists and top ten awards, but how many let YOU vote on the best businesses and locations around your town? After all, it is YOUR town. Who else is more qualified to choose?

Chapelboro.com’s Short List is a monthly award decided entirely by the readers and residents in YOUR community. We’ve been collecting your submissions for the month of February for “Best Place For Pizza,” and now it’s time to vote on the top spots! We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, February 26th! The voting period goes from February 12th to the 25th.

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/short-list-voting-best-place-pizza/feed/0Dean Smith And Mehttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/dean-smith/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/opinion/dean-smith/#commentsMon, 09 Feb 2015 22:11:51 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=130266My mom, a native New Yorker and not shy about voicing an acerbic opinion on any topic, jumped off the couch and pointed at our living room television screen. “There! That man there, Dean Smith! Dean Smith is the luckiest son of a bitch in the world!” she cried out. “He always wins! They always […]

]]>My mom, a native New Yorker and not shy about voicing an acerbic opinion on any topic, jumped off the couch and pointed at our living room television screen.

“There! That man there, Dean Smith! Dean Smith is the luckiest son of a bitch in the world!” she cried out. “He always wins! They always get the breaks! Jesus Christ, that is one lucky son of a bitch!”

Indeed, the Tar Heels had done it again, somehow coming from behind late in the second half to break an enemy’s heart. But even to my 12-year-old mind, my mom’s comments made very little sense.

How was this possible? How were the Tar Heels, even in 1971, able to evoke such an emotional reaction from my champion-of-the-underdog mother? How did Carolina demonstrate such late-game precision? Why the grace under pressure? The improbable comebacks? Why did other teams seem to want to beat UNC so badly that they squeezed too hard and lost their grip on victory?

As I got older, I began to appreciate the foundation upon which that success was built, and I remain fascinated by the master psychologist who authored it all.

Dean Smith understood human nature. He comingled pride and humility better than any coach in any team sport. He comingled the strident belief in a system with an organic, evolutionary coaching style better than any coach in any team sport. And he instinctively knew when to build a player or team up and when to break them down.

Coach Smith also understood that scarcity breeds momentum. His players, coaches and managers were all part of an exclusive fraternity. If you covered the team, even if you traveled with them, you might be able to hear the music but you did not have a back-stage pass.

Talking with Coach Smith could be intimidating. His eyes didn’t just look at you, they X-rayed you, installing and running diagnostic software on your hard drive without you even knowing that you were sharing any files.

Once, at Pittsburgh, the Tar Heels fell behind early and were not boxing out on defense.

“11:48 remaining in the first half, the score is 22-11, Pittsburgh, and Woody, the Tar Heels are not doing a good job getting a body on Pitt Panther offensive rebounders,” said your humble color analyst on the Tar Heel Sports Network. “The Panthers have 6 offensive rebounds to just 1 for Carolina and unless the Tar Heels start boxing out, this will be a long night here in Pittsburgh.”

Uh oh. Our broadcast position was courtside, right beside the Carolina bench. Coach Smith was standing directly in front of me when I made those comments, and he glanced back at me for just a split second.

A few days later, I ran into him in the Smith Center stairwell.

“Ohhh, Coach Mixon,” he said. “Well, how many games have you won lately, Coach?”

And then, just like that, his point having been made with the skill of a diamond-cutter, he was gone, out to run practice, the way a real coach does.

One night soon after he retired, his black BMW sedan pulled up right beside me in the Smith Center’s back parking lot. The driver’s side window rolled down.

“Ohhh Mick, ahh, one of your journalism students interviewed me the other day, and he was very enthusiastic about your class,” Coach Smith said.

Thanks, Coach. I appreciate that, and yes, Parker Melvin is a fine student. His paper was excellent.

“Well, Parker said he really enjoys your class,” Coach continued. “It looks like you might have found your niche.”

And vroom, he was gone.

Standing there alone in the parking lot, a cloud of BMW exhaust still around me, I contemplated this exchange. So, does the winningest basketball coach in the history and the most powerful man in the state of North Carolina think that the primary focus of my professional life, sports announcing, ISN’T my niche?

I wasn’t in his inner circle, but I am in Chansky’s, and that occasionally got me on the golf course with the hyper-competitive Coach Smith.

One spring afternoon, Coach Smith and I were partners in a $5 Nassau against Chansky and Jim Delany. On the 8th green, I faced about a 50 foot downhill birdie putt. Calculating that it will break about two feet from left to right, I stand over the ball and take aim.

“Ahhh, Mick,” my partner said, tending the pin. “This putt breaks to the left. You are lined up wrong.”

Coach! There is high ground to my left, low ground to the right, and it’s obvious that water runs off the green in that direction. This putt breaks right.

“Ohhh no. No it doesn’t.” came his nasal twang. “Aim out here to the right. It breaks to the left.”

I back off the putt and take another look from behind it, but the real issue here isn’t topography, it’s control. Do I stand on my own two legs and putt what I see with my own two eyes? Do I think for myself, or do I mindlessly take the advice of a 70-something-year-old man, just because the ball has gone through the net a lot under his auspices?

No, dang it. I’m not marching in step. I’m a grown man. I know how to read putts.

So I re-take my stance and brush the ball gently down the slope. As soon as it leaves my putter blade, Coach Smith’s voice stabs the air.

“Ohhh, you went YOUR way, I see.”

Yes, I did, and the putt stayed perfectly straight. It did not take his break, nor did it take mine. It straddled the line almost as if an impartial force of nature was officiating this little skirmish, and the ball stopped, hole high, about two feet above the cup on the left. I made the par putt and we won the hole.

“Ahhh, nice par,” Coach said with a smile as he replaced the pin. “But Mick, I see you are not very coachable.”

Perhaps not, Coach. But like so many that you touched, even from a distance, I learned a lot from you just the same.

The fitness industry and media try too hard to fit movement into a completely scientific and mechanistic realm. We adorn the body with various devices to precisely count the 10,000 steps we strive to take each day, to calculate the number of calories we burn, to measure the rate of our beating heart, and even to track sleeping patterns. We encourage people to exercise 150 minutes every seven days whilst maintaining a heart rate of 64-76% of its maximum estimated rate. We go on to tell them to complete 8-10 resistance exercises for three sets of 10 repetitions. We time our “WOD” with the goal of achieving the shortest time possible, down to the second. We break down the human body into hundreds of different moving parts and attempt to isolate each muscle group.

Using your hands on your legs to provide assistance, twist your spine and neck to the right, focusing on rotating from the stomach and shoulders.

Repeat on the left side.

Reach both hands in between your legs to the floor. Feel the pull in your low back.

Inhale deeply, sit up tall, and reach both hands as high in the air as possible.

Relax.

You feel better than you did two minutes ago, correct? This is the magic of movement.

Movement: Ponder what that term means to you.

The fitness industry and media try too hard to fit movement into a completely scientific and mechanistic realm. We adorn the body with various devices to precisely count the 10,000 steps we strive to take each day, to calculate the number of calories we burn, to measure the rate of our beating heart, and even to track sleeping patterns. We encourage people to exercise 150 minutes every seven days whilst maintaining a heart rate of 64-76% of its maximum estimated rate. We go on to tell them to complete 8-10 resistance exercises for three sets of 10 repetitions. We time our “WOD” with the goal of achieving the shortest time possible, down to the second. We break down the human body into hundreds of different moving parts and attempt to isolate each muscle group.

This is neurotic. No wonder so many people have negative views of exercise.

What if…

Instead of compartmentalizing the body into 650 different muscle groups, we viewed the organism as a whole, as one moving unit?

Instead of recommending people slave away on one-size-fits-all machines, we encouraged and empowered them to view movement as an exploration of the self?

Instead of tracking and measuring every detail of our workout, we embraced the sensations of the active body?

Movement is as much an art as it is a science, yet we tend to ignore this viewpoint. We have become so out of touch with our physical being that a large percentage of our population could be defined as “physically awkward.” Pause and quiet yourself for a moment. Can you feel your heart beat? Do you know how it feels at rest, compared to how it feels during activity? Are you aware of the places your body is holding tension and those that are relaxed? Are you in touch with how your feet strike the ground as you walk? Are you cognizant of how you hold your spine as you ambulate? Can you feel which muscles are contracting as you propel forwards? What about when you side-step, or step backwards?

Awareness of movement is the art of movement.

When was the last time you moved outside of the confines of a machine, without the use of external equipment or props, or even clothes and shoes? When was the last time you varied your movement, looking for new sensations and feelings in the body?

Exploration of movement is the art of movement.

Movement is beautiful and pleasurable, yet I hear daily how tedious, boring, and painful exercise is for people. They are relieved when they are finished, and they dread having to repeat the process tomorrow. A large driver of these negative mind-states is born from an overly mechanistic view of how we should move.

We always search for the latest and greatest fitness craze, thinking it is our ticket to enjoying movement. This is delusional, as each craze is only a rehash of the sensationalistic marketing that enveloped the masses a few months earlier. Do you truthfully enjoy panting on your living room floor while a celebrity trainer yells at you to ‘fight through’ one more set of ‘perfect pushups’? Do you really need a disco ball and loud pop music in your indoor cycling class to stay entertained?

Enjoyment of movement is innate; it is part of your biology. Do not leave your physical ability and joy in the hands of the industry’s hottest new trainer. They profit by making you feel bad about yourself as you stand in front of the mirror. Acceptance of the body forms through awareness and exploration. Try various different types of physical activity. Notice how your preferences change as your body adapts and your interests evolve.

Embodying the art of movement means adopting a physically active lifestyle. Movement in some form should occur every day, preferably multiple times per day. This is not a suggestion to perform vigorous, intense physical activity each day. There is no need to punish the body; the goal is to build it up. Each of us is aware of the generic reminders such as parking far away and taking the stairs, but take time to seek out and enjoy movement at other times of the day, too. Take a ten minute walk after lunch to rejuvenate your mind for the afternoon. Stretch in whichever ways feel good ten minutes before bed. Play with your kids, grandkids, friends, or spouse, whether an established game or make believe.

When it comes to exercise, think about energizing the body. Your workout should leave you vital and strong, not tired and stiff. If you truly enjoy tracking data such as steps, time, speed, or heart rate, do so; but also take time to listen to what your body has to say. The same goes for working on aerobic and resistance machines; if they are truly enjoyable and beneficial for you, use them. Know though, that they are not the only way to move.

The art and science of human movement should live in symbiosis. There is a time and a place to be detailed and exact with our physical measurements and recommendations. There is also a time and place to let go of the details and tap into the innate knowledge, born from millions of years of ancestry, which resides within each of us.

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/art-movement/feed/0Ten Best Of Januaryhttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/ten-best-january/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/ten-best-january/#commentsWed, 04 Feb 2015 10:00:12 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=129418Today we’re featuring the best articles published on Chapelboro.com over the past month. From sports and science to health and history, we bring you local writers on issues that matter to you. Read your favorites again, or catch up on articles you missed!

]]>Today we’re featuring the best articles published on Chapelboro.com over the past month. From sports and science to health and history, we bring you local writers on issues that matter to you. Read your favorites again, or catch up on articles you missed!

]]>http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/ten-best-january/feed/0Short List Submissions: Best Place For Pizzahttp://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/short-list-submissions-best-place-pizza/
http://chapelboro.com/lifestyle/short-list-lifestyle/short-list-submissions-best-place-pizza/#commentsTue, 03 Feb 2015 16:10:13 +0000http://chapelboro.com/?p=129357Plenty of sites and publications offer “best of” lists and top ten awards, but how many let YOU vote on the best businesses and locations around your town? After all, it is YOUR town. Who else is more qualified to choose? Chapelboro.com’s Short List is a monthly award decided entirely by the readers and residents in our […]

]]>Plenty of sites and publications offer “best of” lists and top ten awards, but how many let YOU vote on the best businesses and locations around your town? After all, it is YOUR town. Who else is more qualified to choose? Chapelboro.com’s Short List is a monthly award decided entirely by the readers and residents in our community. This month, the category is the “Best Place For Pizza.” In the form below, submit all the locations that YOU think deserve to be on the Short List – the places where you go for a delicious pie (or just a slice). Submissions will last until Wednesday, February 11th – we’ll compile your entries and let the community vote on the best! Check back February 12th to vote!